Flexible electrical circuit connections

ABSTRACT

A system for the connection of flexible electrical circuits to electrical components, particularly gas discharge panels. Flexible circuits are used to carry electrical signals to and/or from various electrical components. In the case of gas discharge panels, the flexible circuits must be carefully and securely held in a fixed position to mate with thick film termination pads from the multiple thin film operating electrodes. The present invention discloses the utilization of a clip member as a major component of a total system for securing such flexible circuits to, as an example, a gas discharge panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to the connection of flexible circuitswhich carry electrical signals to electrical components. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to the connection of such flexiblecircuits to gas discharge panels. Yet more specifically, this inventionrelates to the connection of such flexible circuits to gas dischargepanels by a system using clip members as major components.

The use of flexible cables to carry electrical signals to and/or fromelectrical components such as printed circuit boards is known in theart. The cables may also contain circuit components such as resistors,capacitor and diodes, so the more general term flexible circuits is moreaccurate as including both the simple conductor type and the morecomplex type with circuit elements. In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No.3,749,959 shows one system for attaching such flexible circuits to gasdischarge panels. This system, while practical and useful, does havesome disadvantages. It requires, as will be demonstrated later, flexiblecircuits of two different types for a single gas discharge panel. Inaddition, the bonding technique of the reference patent did not alloweasy removal of flexible circuits for repair or replacement should theyor the gas discharge panel prove defective in initial tests. I havedeveloped a system by which the flexible circuits are held in place onthe panel by a clip member which exerts spring force to so hold theflexible circuits. A force distribution means aids in preventing damageto the panel or the flexible circuit due to the spring force. I havealso invented a tool by which the clip may be easily applied to the gasdischarge panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention finds utility, in one embodiment, in gas discharge panelsof the type having a pair of elongated flat glass plates that arespacedly joined to form a thin gas discharge chamber. The gas dischargepanel includes a plurality of conductors which extend parallel to thelong direction of each of the plates and terminate in mounting padswhich are exterior of the location where the plates are joined. Theplates are joined with their long axis being transverse. My specificinvention is an improvement in such gas discharge panels to provide animproved system for the connection of the panels to external electricalsignals. A flexible circuit means is connected to the externalelectrical signals and has multiple conductors which terminate in padsthat correspond in spacing to the spacing of the mounting pads on theplates. An adhesive means holds the pads of the flexible circuit meansin alignment with the mounting pads on the plates. Clip members securethe flexible circuit means in position by application of a spring forceon the flexible circuit means and the plates. Finally, a forcedistribution means is positioned between the flexible circuit means andthe clip member to prevent concentration of spring forces from the clipmember onto the flexible circuit means and the mounting pads on theplates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the clip member of the presentinvention:

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional, elevational view of a gas discharge panelusing the connection system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a gas discharge panel havingflexible circuits connected thereto by the connection system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one type of flexible circuit having padson a common side;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, with one end curled upward for clarity, ofa second type of flexible circuit, the use of which the presentinvention makes optional, having pads on opposite sides;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 3, illustrating theconnection of flexible circuits to a gas discharge panel utilizing thepresent connection system and using only a single type of flexiblecircuits, that shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an application tool for attachment ofthe clip member of the present invention with the upper member beingunattached; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 with the application tool fullyengaged with the clip member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is once more made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,959, the teachings ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference. As was peviously noted, thisspecific patent illustrates the general operational environment of thepresent invention. It furthermore discloses a technique which is analternative to that presented by the present invention, but a techniquewhich has proven to have drawbacks and which has not been completelysatisfactory to date. In the drawings which accompany the followingdiscussion, many dimensions have been grossly exaggerated in theinterest of clarity of explanation. Those skilled in the art will easilyrecognize where such distortions occur, particularly in the illustrationof the various connection pads involved.

A clip member 10 which is a major component of the present invention isseen in FIG. 1. The clip member 10 is preferably manufactured from aspring type steel such as C1075, and may be made of material ofapproximately 0.020 inch in thickness. The clip member 10 includes anelongated, generally rectangular bottom member 12. Connected to andintegrally formed with the bottom member 12 is an upstanding wall member14 which is positioned at approximately 90° with respect to the bottommember 12. Connected to the upper terminus of the wall portion 14 andagain formed as an integral assembly is a generally V-shaped springportion 16 with the notch pointing downward toward the bottom member 12.The spring portion 16 is generally configured such that the distancefrom the bottom of the V or the notch to the top of the bottom member 12is somewhat less than half the total height of the wall 14. This helpsinsure adequate spring forces in the application of the clip 10.Additionally, a downwardly extending leg 18 of the spring portion 16 ispreferably slightly longer than an upwardly extending leg 20. Theparticular configuration of the clip member 10 seen in FIG. 1 includespunched out ear portions 22 and 23 which are formed from the material ofthe downwardly extending leg 18. With these ears 22 and 23 available, itis conceivable that wire form handles could be inserted into these ears22 and 23 for opening or biasing the spring portion 16 into an openposition for its application. However, as will be pointed out later,this is not a preferred configuration since the ears 22 and 23 addunnecessary complexity to the clip member 10 and consequently increaseits cost. Furthermore, the clip member 10 is preferably made as anextremely stiff member and it is physically difficult to producesufficient pressure with wire form handles acting on the ears 22 and 23to open the spring portion 16. In the preferred mode of operation, theears 22 and 23 are absent, and a specific application tool is utilized.

The cross sectional view of FIG. 2 best illustrates the presentinvention in its completed form. The patent previously noted andincorporated by reference was specifically designed to allow theconnection of flexible termination circuits to gas discharge displaypanels. This is also the purpose of the present invention. However, thepresent invention should not be thought of as being strictly limited togas discharge panels. The techniques disclosed herein are applicable toany electrical connection requirement, using flexible circuits as forexample in printed circuit boards. A gas display panel 24 has upper andlower plates 25 and 26. In the view of FIG. 2, a thin film electrode 28is seen as extending along the upper surface of the lower plate 26.Those skilled in the art of such display panels recognize, of course,that there are a multiplicity of such thin film electrodes extendingfrom both the upper plate 25 and the lower plate 26 to areas beyond theactive display area for connection to input and/or output electricalcircuitry through thick film pads. The input and output signals are mosttypically furnished by multiconductor flexible circuits such as thatshown at 30 in FIG. 2. The flexible circuit 30 will be referred to as aflexible circuit as opposed to a flexible conductor, since it ispossible that some electronic functions may be performed within thismember as opposed to the member simply providing a conduit for the flowof electricity. In the most general sense, the term flexible circuitwould include simple flexible conductors which transmit electricity aswell as those which include some electronic components for themodification of signals as they travel through the flexible circuit 30.

One of the most important aspects of the present invention is that itallows assembly of the flexible circuit 30 to the gas display panel 24in such a manner that no element of the attaching means, save therelatively thin bottom member 12, extends beyond the surfaces defined bythe upper and lower panels 25 and 26. That is, no portion of the clip 10extends above the upper most portion of the upper panel 25. This isextremely important since many of these display panels 24 are mounted inareas which require that the upper panel 25 be flush with some mountingdevice. All elements which are used to secure the flexible circuits 30to the panel 24 therefore must lie below a plane which is defined by theupper surface of the upper plate 25. To date, this has proven extremelydifficult, and the permanent bonding techniques described in thereferenced patent have been one of the best methods so far developed toachieve this goal. However, such permanent bonding techniques areextremely inflexible in that they do not allow easy removal of aflexible circuit 30 for repair or replacement, nor do they allow removalof the flexible circuits 30 from a panel 24 which may be found to bedefective upon initial testing without risk of damage to the thick filmpads. It can be seen that the present invention provides a removableattachment for the flexible circuit 30 in that the clip 10 may beremoved and a defective flexible circuit 30 be replaced withoutsignificant difficulty. Likewise, the desired positioning of allmounting means for the flexible circuit 30 below the plane defined bythe upper plate 25 is also achieved.

In FIG. 2, the thin film electrode 28 terminates in a thick film pad 32.In actual fact, those skilled in the art are well aware, a plurality ofthin film electrodes each terminate with a common thick film pad 32.There are a plurality of such termination points along the length ofboth the upper and lower plates 25 and 26 to which the flexible circuits30 are attached. All termination pads or connections are first carefullycleaned to prevent erratic contact due to dust or oil particles. Arelatively thin layer 34 of an adhesive is first applied to the topportion of the thick film pad 32. The flexible circuit 30 is thenaligned with the thick film pad 32 and pressed in place with theadhesive 34 serving to hold this initially aligned relationship. Thisbond is not permanent in nature and is strictly designed to secure theflexible circuit 30 until a more permanent mounting means may beattached. It would be possible, if desired, to form a permanent gluejoint at this time or to "pot" the assembly at this time. The clip 10would then be used as an added holding feature. Such an extreme form ofbonding system might be used for very hostile environmental requirementsor for severe MIL specs. An electrical insulator 36, which may have anadhesive backing, is then preferably placed on top of the flexiblecircuit 30 generally adjacent to the thick film pad 32. A resilientforce distribution means 38, which may be a relatively thin pad ofsilicone rubber approximately one thirty-second of an inch thick, isthen placed in position over the thick film pad 32. The forcedistribution means 38 may have an adhesive back to hold it in place.Finally, the clip member 10 is attached to the panel 24. The wallportion 14 is less in height than the thickness of both plates 25 and26. It may be seen that the bottom member 12 overlaps the edge of thelower plate 26 and is tightly held against the lower plate 26. Thistight holding action is provided by the spring portion 16 which bearsagainst the top of the lower panel through the force distribution means38, insulator 36, flexible circuit 30, adhesive means 34, and the thickfilm electrode 32. The purpose of the force distribution means 38 is toprevent a concentration of load upon the flexible circuit 30 atprecisely the bottom of the V-notch. It should be realized that such aconcentration of forces could lead to partial or total destruction ofparts of the flexible circuit 30, or could possibly damage the thickfilm pad 32. The force distribution means 38 further helps compensatefor surface discontinuities and any imperfect matches between the thickfilm pad 32 and the flexible circuit 30. The insulator 36 may be omittedin some cases if the electrical insulation properties of the forcedistribution means 38 proves sufficient.

It is well known that the total number of thin film electrodesterminating at a given location may vary from panel to panel.Additionally, the width of a flexible circuit 30, which is directlyrelated to the number of thin film electrodes with which it is related,may also vary from panel to panel. Thus, the overall lengths of the clipmember 10 will be set to correspond to the width or number of totalcircuits carried by the flexible circuit 30.

FIG. 3 is a much enlarged view of one end of the display panel 24illustrating how the present invention would be used to secure flexiblecircuits 30 to both upper plate 25 and lower plate 26. Note that in bothcircumstances, the only projection beyond the plane of the panelsthemselves is the relatively thin bottom member 12 of the clip 10. Itcan be seen that a plurality of flexible circuits 30 are used to connectwith the plurality of the electrodes which are a part of both upper andlower plates 25 and 26. One point to be made is that although all of theflexible circuits 30 are given the same numeral in FIG. 3, they may infact perform different functions, and some may be simply electricalconductors while others are the more complex flexible circuits per se.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it allows use ofonly one type of flexible circuit 30. As FIG. 3 shows, the thick filmpads 32 for the lower plate 26 face upward while the thick film pads 32for the upper plate 25 face downward. The flexible circuit 30 also hasmounting pads 37, as seen in FIG. 4, on the same side. In the assemblyof the entire system, it is desirable that the pads 37 from the flexiblecircuits 30 from both the upper and lower plates face inward for matingwith matrix boards. It is therefore required, in most systems, that twodifferent types of flexible circuit 30 be used. The second type,designated as 30A, is shown in FIG. 5. The flexible circuit 30A had pads37A on opposite sides rather than on the same side. In FIG. 3, theflexible circuits used for the lower plate 26 are actually of the typeshown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 shows how the "single sided" type of flexible circuit 30 in FIG.4 can be used. This type is desirable because it is lower in cost thanthe "double sided" type of flexible circuit shown in FIG. 5. The upperplate 25 is assembled exactly as in FIG. 3. In the case of the lowerplate 26, the flexible circuit is made to extend under the bottom member12 of the clip 10, thus having its length extending under the lowerplate 26 as opposed to coming from the top of the lower plate 26, asshown in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a novel application tool which may be used inthe application of the clip 10. The tool is actually made up of twoseparate portions, which for convenience in referring to their normalorientation, may be referred to as a lower member 40 and an upper member42. The lower member 40 includes a cutout portion 44 which generallyconforms in size to the bottom member 12 of the clip 10. The height ordepth of the cutout 44 does not necessarily have to be as high as theupstanding wall portion 14, and in fact should not be so deep so as toprevent proper cooperation with the upper tool member 42. A hook 46 isattached to the open end of the cutout 44 and is positioned above thebottom of the cutout 44 a distance greater than the thickness of thematerial of the bottom member 12. The bottom member 12 may then beslipped under the hook 46 and held securely in position as seen in FIG.7. The hook 46 is shown as being secured to the lower tool member 40 byscrews 48, but any convenient securing technique can be used, and it isconceivable that the hook 46 could be made an integral part of the lowertool member 40. The upper tool member 42 also includes a hook 50. Thehook 50 is generally downwardly directed with respect to the orientationof the upper tool member 42 as it is normally used. There is a gapprovided between the face of the hook 50 and the end of the upper toolmember 42. This space is set to be slightly wider than the thickness ofthe material which makes up the upwardly extending leg 20 of the springportion 16. Positioned behind the hook member 50 is a fulcrum block 52.The distance between the hook 50 and the block 52 is set to beapproximately equal to the distance between the outermost extension ofthe upwardly extending leg 20 and the back of the upstanding wallportion 14. This distance may also be defined as the approximate widthof the spring portion 16. As illustrated most graphically in FIG. 8, thehook 50 engages the upwardly extending leg 20 and the block 52 thenpositions itself behind the wall 14 at approximately its upper mostpoint. It should be quite clear that a lever is created and by pullingdownwardly on the upper tool member 42, the distance between the bottomof the V-notch and the bottom member 12 may be increased. While the clip10 is held in this configuration, it may be slipped over the forcedistribution means 38. It would then be pushed forward until theupstanding wall 14 was stopped by the upper or lower plate 25 or 26 asthe case might be. At this point, the operator could release pressure onthe upper tool member 42 which would then allow the spring portion 16 toreturn to its normal position as seen in FIG. 2. While this is calledthe normal position, it is actually a slightly stressed position whichwill present the necessary spring force to hold the flexible circuit 30in place. With this action done, the upper tool member 42 be easilyremoved and, with a slight springing of the bottom member 12, the lowertool member 40 may also be removed by a slight downward motion and apush forward. This entire installation procedure is very advantageous tothe components involved since it is basically a zero insertion forcesystem. There are no sliding forces nor are there any unusual normalforces encountered during the assembly.

I claim:
 1. In a gas discharge panel having a pair of elongated flatglass plates spacedly joined to form a thin gas discharge chamber,wherein said plates are joined with their long axis transverse, whereina plurality of conductors extend parallel to the long direction of eachplate on the surface of each of said plates and terminate in mountingpads which are exterior of the location wherein said plates are joined,an improved system for the connection of said gas discharge panel toelectrical signals which comprises, in combination:flexible circuitmeans, having multiple conductors terminating in pads which correspondin spacing to the spacing of said mounting pads on said plate, forcarrying electrical signals; adhesive means for holding the pads of saidflexible circuit means in alignment with said mounting pads on saidplates; clip members for securing said flexible circuit means inposition by the application of spring forces on said flexible circuitmeans and on said plates, said clip members each including;a bottommember underlying said glass plate on the side away from said platemounting pads; an upstanding wall portion extending toward said platemounting pads and being of a height less than the combined thickness ofsaid pair of flat glass plates; and a generally V-shaped spring portionconnected to the upper marginal edge of said wall portion with the notchthereof pointing toward said flexible circuit means, said spring portionbeing defined by a downwardly extending leg attached to said upstandingwall portion and an upwardly extending leg, attached to the lowermarginal edge of said downwardly extending leg, which is shorter inlength than said downwardly extending leg; and force distribution means,positioned between said flexible circuit means and said clip members,for preventing concentration of spring forces from said clip membersonto said flexible circuit means and said mounting pads on said platesand for compensating for any surface irregularities, said notch portionof said spring portion being in contact with said force distributionmeans.
 2. In the gas discharge panel of claim 1, the improved connectionsystem further includes:an electrically insulating member positionedbetween said force distribution means and said flexible circuit means.